An analysis of the company’s internal data has highlighted a 25% rise in reported disputes over the past year.

If left unaddressed, this surge could disrupt one of the year’s busiest shopping periods. Rivero is therefore urging institutions to implement proactive measures that ensure seamless transactions and reliable customer support throughout the seasonal rush. From unauthorised transactions to duplicate charges or service issues, cardholder disputes can swiftly become time- and cost-intensive for back-office teams, especially during peak periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when transaction volumes spike.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, card-based payments continue to dominate consumer transactions. Recent data indicates that the average UK resident makes approximately 70 card transactions per month. While this payment method remains popular due to Visa and Mastercard's robust consumer protection frameworks, it is essential for issuers to ready their operations for the anticipated rise in disputes. Notably, fraud involving EU/EEA-issued cards has escalated, reaching €633 million in the first half of 2023. Card-not-present fraud, in particular, has seen significant increases, underscoring the need for enhanced security measures.

The combined rise in fraud and the general increase in card usage are contributing to the surge in reported cardholder issues. Now, more than ever, it is essential for banks and financial institutions to implement proactive measures to mitigate these challenges and uphold customer trust during peak transaction periods. Prioritising modern solutions that automate traditionally manual, time-intensive steps in dispute management is central to this approach, helping to ease the burden on back-office staff and ensure a smoother experience for customers.

Speaking on the advice, Thomas Müller, Co-Founder & CEO at Rivero commented: "As we approach Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we advise banks, neobanks, and financial institutions: prepare now for a significant surge in cardholder issues. Our data shows a 25% increase in reported cardholder problems over the past year, and this spike could further intensify during this peak shopping period. Without proactive measures, institutions risk overwhelmed back-office teams and diminished customer trust.”

Rivero, a SaaS software developer for dispute management and payment network compliance, has first-hand data on customer cardholder disputes thanks to its Amiko solution. Amiko digitalises the entire fraud recovery and dispute process and helps issuing banks efficiently manage this process while offering a unique self-service experience to their customers. Amiko empowers banks to promote consumer protection of card payments to their customers without being concerned with increasing volume or costs.